Rotterdam Photo 2027: Vibrance - The Pulse of a Living World

With Vibrance, Rotterdam Photo is not opting for a safe reflection on the world, but for a shift in perspective. In an era where crisis forms the dominant narrative, we focus on what continues to flow, pulsate and connect. Not as a denial of what causes friction, but as a conscious choice to look at where life intensifies, elevates and breaks out.

Vibrance is the energy of bodies coming together.

It is a colour that refuses to fade. It is the beat beneath protest, the surge of a crowd, the breathing of ecosystems and communities. It is the power of presence - physical, emotional, digital - that manifests itself time and again.

Here, joy becomes not an escape, but a stance. An act. A form of resistance and of imagination.

Within this context, Rotterdam Photo functions as an international hub where these energies converge and become visible. Rotterdam itself, as a city of movement and diversity, resonates with this dynamic, but the festival explicitly reaches further: it connects local experiences with global narratives and brings together a multitude of perspectives in a single shared space of intensity and exchange.

The curatorial structure unfolds as a field of vibrations. Urban Rhythms follows the cadence of human systems — cities, networks, flows of labour and migration — within which energy is constantly redistributed. In Fragile Vitality, we see how vulnerability and vitality intertwine, and how new forms of balance emerge at the intersection of loss and renewal. Cultural Pulse celebrates the visibility and power of identity, where communities express themselves through rituals, style and collective expression. Digital Vibrance explores how energy moves into and through virtual spaces, and how presence is redefined. In Inner Frequencies, the focus shifts to the subtle, personal resonances of emotion, mental space and inner intensity. Together, these strands do not form a fixed framework, but an open constellation - an invitation to move, feel and connect.

Vibrance opens up a space for a photographic practice that refuses to be confined. From documentary to experimental, from analogue to digital and from image to installation: the festival brings together diverse forms, each of which makes energy visible in its own way. The international open call serves as a dynamic platform inviting creators to share their own interpretation of vibrance - raw, intimate, explosive or tranquil.

The theme ‘Vibrance’ represents a bold and forward-looking vision. The project contributes to social cohesion by placing encounters and shared experiences at its heart, and highlights the role of art as a unifying force within a diverse and changing society. At the same time, it stimulates artistic innovation by providing space for new forms of visual production and presentation. The festival’s international scope and thematic openness make it a relevant player within the global arts scene. The public is invited not only to watch, but to become part of the pulse.

Vibrance manifests itself as a sensory experience in which image, space and body converge. Here, an environment emerges in which distance disappears and engagement grows - where art is not merely observed, but experienced. With Vibrance, Rotterdam Photo positions itself as a platform that not only makes the energy of our times visible, but activates it. The festival creates a space where intensity, encounter and imagination converge - and where new forms of connection can emerge.

Because vibrance cannot be captured.
It moves between people.
It grows through encounter.
It arises where we come together.

And that is precisely where Rotterdam Photo begins.

Working method / selection

With this Open Call, we make a global call for autonomously produced photographic projects responding to the theme of the edition. The theme serves as a broad conceptual framework for the overall festival programme, while artists are free to interpret it through their own perspective and visual language.

In addition to the open call, a number of artists are invited directly based on the consistency and relevance of their body of work. All submissions are evaluated by a professional photography panel, with selection based on artistic quality, social urgency, originality and strength of visual language.

Choose how you want to participate

All submissions are made through a single application. During the application process, you can select the category that best fits your work. Photographers may apply to multiple categories. Each submission is reviewed separately by the selection committee.

Projects - International

The Projects Open Call category is open to photographers, artists, and visual storytellers from around the world. We welcome both emerging and established practitioners working across documentary, conceptual, experimental, and interdisciplinary image-based practices. Entrants must be at least 16 years of age as of the date of entry.

Single Image - International

Open to photographers and image-makers worldwide working across photography and visual media. This category is for individual photographic works. Selected winning images are transformed into large-scale public installations on the exterior of the festival containers.

Dutch Talent Project Grant - The Netherlands

in collaboration with Amarte Fonds

This category is open for photographers who are based in the Netherlands, currently studying there, or have completed studies in the Netherlands. Eligible applicants include:

3rd- and 4th-year art academy students

Recent alumni (since 2020) of photography or related visual arts programs

Self-taught photographers with up to five years of practical experience

Projects developed during study are eligible, provided they are extended or deepened beyond the academic context.

What you receive

Projects - International

Selected artists receive a dedicated exhibition space during Rotterdam Photo 2027 exhibition. Artists have the opportunity to curate and shape the presentation of their own project, making their work part of a large-scale public photography exhibition.

Single Image - International

Winners of the Single Image category receive a large-scale 2.5 × 2.5 m PVC print of their work, installed on the exterior of a festival container in public space throughout Rotterdam Photo 2027. Full production is covered by the festival.

Dutch Talent Project Grant - The Netherlands

Five selected artists receive a €3,000 production grant to develop their project into a work-in-progress exhibition at Rotterdam Photo 2027, with a dedicated exhibition space, curatorial guidance and international visibility through Rotterdam Photo and its partners.

For all selected artists

Alongside the exhibition, selected artists gain direct access to an international audience of collectors, curators, gallerists and press. Artists may present and sell their work during the festival, and Rotterdam Photo does not charge commission on sales.

Opportunities for photographers

Submission reviewed by professionals from the photography field

Featuring across festival and partner social media channels and websites, including LensCulture, Dodho Magazine and All About Photo

Opportunity to curate and present a personal exhibition project at Rotterdam Photo 2027

Opportunity to participate in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events

Publication and inclusion in the festival programme

International press exposure

Exposure to 10,000+ festival visitors in the centre of Rotterdam

Opportunity to exhibit in Barcelona in June at the gallery of the International Photo Festival Association

Opportunity to exhibit in Tampere, Finland, during the Backlight festival in September

Opportunity to exhibit in Tbilisi, Georgia, during the Tbilisi Art Fair in May

Opportunity to exhibit in Switzerland during Photo Schweiz with Directors’ Choice